Kline: Roll back Obamacare costs to keep student loan rates low

To support a one-year extension of the 3.4 percent subsidized Stafford Loan interest rate, U.S. Rep. John Kline says he's willing to back legislation that will keep "wasteful spending in check without piling debt on the backs of our children and grandchildren."

Kline, chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, said he'll support a fellow Republican’s bill, the Interest Rate Reduction Act, as a short-term solution to a long-term problem. The bill targets the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama's health reform law, for cuts, Kline said in a statement released today.

With President Obama visiting three college campuses in today to campaign on the issue, congressional Democrats are also proposing legislation to keep the interest rates on the federal loans from doubling on July 1.

“No one wants to see interest rates on federal subsidized Stafford Loans double in a few short months. Unfortunately, both President Obama and his Democrat allies in Congress have field to put forward a responsible plan that can extend current rates without raising taxes or adding to the deficit. Once again, Democrats have demonstrated a failure of leadership by favoring short-term political gain over responsible long-term solutions,” Kline said in a statement.

“The legislation introduced today by my Republican colleague will remove the threat of the Democrats’ student loan interest rate hike. Rather than imposing new tax hikes on small business, the House Republican proposal will roll back wasteful spending in ObamaCare to help student borrowers without piling debt on the backs of our children and grandchildren. While this is not a perfect solution, it will enable Congress to develop the long-term solution borrowers and taxpayers deserve. It is time for Democrats in Washington to stop focusing on the next election and start addressing the serious challenges facing the nation.”

A Duluth native who just barely lost Virginia's GOP gubernatorial primary said that politicians have not gone far enough in condemning the left for violence during a rally of white nationalists in Charlottesville. "I think that the left is going to try to use this as an excuse to crack down on conservative free speech," said Corey Stewart. "I think they're going to try to use this as an excuse to remove more historical monuments."